Beneath Her Cold Heart
by CopperCorgi
Summary: Monkey D. Luffy is just an average high school student. Through a series of events after discovering a shocking secret, his life becomes entangled with that of the school idol Boa Hancock. Will Luffy be able to help her get through her traumatic past?
1. A Fateful Encounter

**Hey guys, this is my first fanfic ever. I reformatted the structure a bit but I beg of you to give this story three chapters before putting it down. I don't own the masterpiece of a story known as One Piece. Now the story will begin.**

Beneath Her Cold Heart

The Beginning

It was a beautiful fall morning, gold leaves covered the streets emanating a very calm atmosphere. This was only disturbed by some a young boy sprinting down the street to make it to class on time. He was a new transfer student that was going to be attending the prestigious marine sciences and shipbuilding school-Grand Line High-starting the second quarter of the school. He stumbles up the stairs to his new class and runs into it right as the tardy bell rings. He stands at the doorway panting for a few seconds until he is told by the teacher to introduce himself to his fellow classmates. He stands in the front of the class and begins.

"HI, my name is Monkey D. Luffy but you can call me Luffy. I'm a sophomore and I transferred here from Fusha High cuz my grampa had to relocate to a military base near here. My dream is to become King of the pirates and find the legendary One Piece" I says with a huge grin on my face.

The teacher then instructs me to take a seat and hands me my coursework for the remainder of the school year. The courses contain some relatively average classes but one of the classes is a senior level course. The teacher explains that on the placement tests I achieved an exceptionally high score in maritime technology and rather average and some poor scores in the other categories, thus placing me in a senior level course for that specific course. I was able to makes my group of friends rather quickly both since they sat relatively close to me in class and because I somehow managed to get involved in some crazy events a bit too easily. I first befriended Zoro when I helped get his swords back from a guy named Morgan through a boxing match. I then became friends with a very greedy but sincere girl Nami after standing up to some guys that were blackmailing her by threatening her family. I became acquainted with the class liar Usopp after helping Usopp when his crush when was being extorted by her butler Kuro in a scheme to rob her family. I became good friends with the class's top chef and pervert Sanji when I protected Sanji from sabotage in culinary class by the hands of a bully called Don Crieg. The class doctor, Chopper, and I became buddies after I helped Chopper by exposing his landlord Wapol for being corrupt. The class history jock, Nico Robin, became a good friend of mine when I learned of her past and reminded her that she was important. I became good buddies with Franky, the class mechanic, when Franky was unjustly framed, and I was able to prove his innocence with the help of my other friends. We also showed that a creep named Spandam was the fraud. My last groupie was the wise and shameless musician, Brook, who became friends with me after I helped Brook get his lost self-confidence back by standing up to an upperclassmen named Moria. This would all happen in the future, but right now I needed to find my classes.

As the school day was almost at a close I was somehow able to make it to the last period of the day- Advanced Maritime Technology II. I gave my sixth introduction of the day and the teacher instructed me to sit at an empty seat. It was the farthest table in the back but it was roomy. I could probably sneak a few naps in without his teacher noticing. The classroom had dark walls and three rows of long tables with enough room to allow students to get around the room without too much trouble. As I plopped down in my seat I was unaware of a menacing aura being directed in my direction by none other than the school's idol Boa Hancock. She was undoubtedly the most beautiful girl in the school. She had dazzling dark blue eyes with voluminous eye lashes, raven black hair that reached down to her waist, pale white skin with no blemishes whatsoever, and a voluptuous pair of breasts. However, completely oblivious to her beauty, my thoughts were consumed by delicious foods and my ambitions. Upon sitting down, she gave me a warm smile and stared into my eyes. I stared back and also smiled.

"Drop this class you dirty monkey, and give me back my leg space." She said with a puppy dog pout.

"Huh? No way. I can't do that, my grampa would throw me into a jungle again if I dropped any of my classes." I replied with a blank look.

Hancock's veins began to pop as she heard the defiance. Nobody had ever been able to resist her charm until now. This ingrate had refused a goddess' request, she would make him pay dearly. She raised her hand to speak to the teacher. Following the same routine, she began to coerce the teacher into removing her tablemate from the class or better yet to expel him from the school. The teacher, with a huge blush across his face, stated he couldn't. As much as he would like to he couldn't, Luffy's grandfather was a vice admiral in the marines and had quite a bit of authority. He informed her that the school would be unable to fulfill her request.

Such insolence. Hancock had never had to tolerate such acts of rebellion from anyone before, yet this boy was defying all her wishes without so much as batting an eye. She was determined into making my life a hell. As a month passed she took every opportunity she had to cause me pain including intentionally tripping me, stepping on my feet, ratting me out to teachers for things I may not have done, and persuading teachers into failing my tests and more. However, despite all this foul play I didn't suspect anything. All this happened commonly, and I was also pretty stupid in my studies as well. Each day I would come to class and greet her with a jubilant.

Eventually Hancock, at the end of her wits decided to simply ignore him. Track season had started so she decided the best way to get rid of all the stress he was giving her could be alleviated by simply ignoring him. In this past month I had also found something to do after school and that was joining a marine engineering type of club. The goal of the club was to build a student-operated submarine for a competition in the spring. My skills had gotten me a lot of praise from both other students and faculty members, but too much praise wasn't necessarily a good thing.

Today after school I was given a task by the faculty to help fix the gym. They had heard of my skills through word of mouth and decided to enlist me. I was assigned to replace the shingles that had started to wear out and leak water. I groaned to myself, I really wanted to go home and eat dinner, but I couldn't exactly refuse the request. With my head drooping from my shoulders, I walked to the gym after classes had ended for the day.

I went around to the back and climbed up the roof with a bag full of tools. Upon reaching the top, I set down the tools the school had provided me with and began work. It had only been a few minutes since I'd begun work when a certain section of the roof caught his eye. The shingles in that area were severely cracked and had an ugly green color between them. I lifted the shingles to assess the damage to the area. I lifted the shingles and saw damage like that done by termites, but this case was very severe. I slowly put the shingle back and run away, but it was too late. Cracks rapidly began to form underneath shingles and the roof collapsed with a splintering CRACK. A huge hole formed, and I was taken down with it.

"UWAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" I screamed as I fell into darkness.

As I opened my eyes all I saw was a blur of darkness. I felt around the walls and found a light switch. I rubbed my eyes as they adjusted to the light. Once I was able to see again I became aware of where I was. If had just been a locker room it would have been fine, but this was different, I was in the girl's locker room. I had to get out of here, if someone saw me and reported it, the roof would be the least of my troubles. I checked my watch it had only been 15 minutes since I began working on the roof, luckily, it wasn't too long, the girls were probably still in the gym making it an ideal time for escaping.

I ran towards an exit but stopped by some yelling.

"AAAAAAAAAH, WHAT IS THAT DISGUSTING THING"

"""EWWWWW…...""" A group spouted in unison.

I moved closer to the door leading to the gym and slightly open it. As I peek through the door I see a single girl being ridiculed by about twenty other girls. Aside from her bra, the lone girl is basically topless. The girl turns around with her back now facing me. I almost stumble a bit when I look at her back. On her back is a large black claw shaped mark surrounded by burned flesh. I almost vomit at the scene of the scarred flesh.

"WHAT A DISGUSTING MARK. HOW DARE YOU SHOW YOUR FACE AROUND HERE WHEN YOU HAVE THAT!"

"AND YOU CALL YOURSELF BEAUTIFUL?!"

Girls continue to berate her one after another. Don't they understand what she must have gone through? All of them, they sicken me.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WERE HIDING IT ALL THIS TIME, YOU SLAVE. I'M SO GLAD WE FOUND OUT WHILE YOU WERE CHANGING. GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HERE."

"GET OUT OF HERE, YOUR KIND DON'T BELONG HERE"

"YOU'RE ONLY GOING TO TAINT THIS SCHOOL"

The other students all hurl insults at the lone girl and berate her to no end. She begins to reach her hand out to explain but it's to avail.

"Don't Touch Me" A student says as she slaps the girl's hand away with a baton.

"GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF ME!LEAVE!"

"GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!" All the students chant in unison at the poor girl. The gym begins to resonate with that one statement and the girl begins to break down and cry.

"DIE!"

Finally, I snap. I'm enraged and I let out my emotions and I shout in anger. Unknown to me, this triggered my conqueror's haki to activate and target all the students that were berating the lone girl. The bullies all pass out leaving only the weeping girl standing. As they hit the floor I realize what happened and open the door to the gym. I walk to the fallen students and check to see if they're ok. After confirming they're just unconscious, I head to the girl with the scar.

"They're all just so mean, aren't they? Don't they're all just sleeping for now and they probably won't remember anything that happened recently. Your secret is safe."

The girl quickly puts on her shirt and turns to face me as I walked towards her. Durinig the exchange of words I was unable to figure out who the girl was, but upon seeing her face, I'm overcome with shock. The girl who was the center of everyone's insults was none other than the school idol, my table mate, Boa Hancock.

Her eyes are red and puffy, tears stream endlessly.

"...Thank you."

"Yeah...no problem. We should get out of here. Their memories may resurface if they wake up and see you."

I take her hand and lead her to a private place I'd accidentally stumbled upon. Hancock quietly went along with me until we arrived. It was a small, crystal clear pond surrounded by trees. We sat down in silence near the water. It was cold by the pond, so I gave her my jacket. After a few moments Hancock spoke up.

"I guess I should explain what happened huh." She said amid sobs and some lingering tears in her eyes.

After taking a deep breath Hancock regains her composure.

"It all started about 12 years ago."


	2. Her Tragedy

**Wow, I didn't think I would get as many views as I have. I was expecting only like five people to read my little story but I'm really happy with the turnout, Thank You so much. Also, I'm really sorry about how long it took to update, I just went to college and I didn't have a lot of time. But to make up for that I'm planning on finishing the series up by the end of December. To anyone who's been a fan from the beginning I want to let you guys know I really appreciate it. Now without any further ado here's chapter 3.**

Chapter 2- Her Tragedy

I was 6 years old when it all happened, my sisters and I had just lost our parents in a traffic accident. When the police told us about it we all nearly collapsed from the shock of it. Unable to comprehend what had happened Marigold started crying, then Sandersonia. I tried to calm them down as tears dripped from my eyes, but I couldn't hold it in either. It snowballed until we were all bawling our eyes out. We didn't have many relatives and were from somewhat of a lawless district, so the police didn't have any place to put us. A few days later a long-lost relative came to claim us. Her name was Marilyn and she said she was a cousin of our mother, despite her blood relations she didn't have a shred of the compassion our real mother had. She was really only there to claim us. We later learned that claiming us gave her ownership of our home as stated in our mother's will. When we heard that a family member had come to take us "home" we felt a sliver of happiness. That sliver would soon fade away. Upon entering her home we were met with sneers from our new "family". They didn't try to love or care for us, they simply used us as they saw fit. We weren't treated as children or even humans at that, in their eyes we were nothing but pests. Neither Marilyn or her husband would attend to us much less feed us. Soon after she ran out of drinking money, they decided to sell off what wasn't needed-us.

We found ourselves in an orphanage and saw Marilyn signing various papers. When she was all done she left the building telling us that this was our new home. It was dark, very dark. The only thing that allowed to see were some oil lamps in the corners of the room, but even they were very dim. We sat before a large redwood desk and its occupant. Her name was Fiona, she looked really young and she was very pretty. She had white skin, and ruby eyes. She wore beautiful golden curls that went down to her neck, red ribbons that tied her hair back and a very warm smile. She had beautiful pink nails and adorned a simple yet gorgeous pink dress with white frills. Even though we were in such a scary room, she drove away all our fears with a simple smile. Once she finished her paperwork she led us our room. We followed her out of the room and into a dark and dank hallway. The walls were made of gray concrete, so it looked very ugly. We asked why the place looked as it did and were told it was because they didn't have a lot of money to fix up the place. Immediately afterward we got to our room. It was horrid.

Upon opening the door we were instantly met with a rotten and sour stench. It smelled like a dumpster that had been left out for years. We coughed for a few minutes, once our eyes had stopped tearing up, we looked inside the room. It was the size of a queen-sized bed. There were no windows to let the light in, all we had was an oil lamp in the corner of the room. The only belonging in the room was a blanket. We were told the blanket was where we would sleep, there was a community restroom to go to when we needed. This would be where the three of us would live for what seemed like an eternity.

The following day Fiona took us to a very hot room, she said we would get a present there. The room looked red from the heat of the blazing fire in the corner of the room. We were told to lie down on some wooden tables in the back of the room, then Fiona left telling someone would be there shortly to give them some food and the presents. We had just laid facing down on the tables when suddenly, our hands and feet were chained down to the tables. We tried freeing ourselves, but we couldn't. Someone came and tied us down, so we wouldn't move. Our heads were faced down, so we couldn't see who it was. Fear swept through us. We tried calling for help but nobody came. I told my sisters that it would be alright, Fiona would be back soon. CLANG. We jumped at the sound of metal on metal. A few moments later the room got much hotter. Then we heard footsteps. They grew closer and closer until they finally stopped. I felt a hand lift up my shirt exposing my back. I shrieked as the hand stroked my back. The hand then left my back and I felt the room get even hotter.

PSSSSSSSSSTTTTT

A surge of immense heat and pain engulfed my back and then the rest of my body.

KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

I screamed at the top of my lungs. The pain was unbearable. Tears rushed down my face. I tried to move but neither the chains around my hands and feet nor the rope around my waist and head allowed it. Even when my body twitched the slightest the pain would spread even further. My skin, my body felt like it was melting. Was I going to die? I thrashed around until I could take it any longer and became unconscious from it all. This was my first day in a living hell, one I could never forget no matter how long I cried or how hard I tried to forget.


	3. That Which Ensued

**Thanks for all the support guys. If you guys have any suggestions or comments, please leave a review. Now here's chapter 3, the second part of the flashback. I hope you enjoy.**

Chapter 3- That Which Ensued

When I came to I was back in my room along with my sisters. I tried to get up but was struck with pain as I lifted my head off the pavement. It was then I remembered what had happened. I felt about myself and found that my back was covered with a dressing. I looked around and saw that my sisters also had the same dressing. We had all just been marked as the property of the orphanage. This marked the beginning of our lives as slaves. A week later we were put to work. Each day we worked from dusk til dawn. If we worked hard we'd be fed, if we slacked off we'd be placed in a chamber for days as punishment. The meals we received could hardly be called meals. They were scraps of bread with a glass a water. On holidays and special occasions, we'd get soup but those hardly came. With fresh scars on our back we often passed out from pain and exhaustion causing us to become quite familiar with the isolation chamber. This became less frequent as time passes but it took its toll on the younger ones. Near the end of our first month there, Marigold almost died from malnutrition. She was taken from our room and we didn't see her for several days. Fiona made us work twice as hard to make up for her absence. As our fingers would turn red and bleed from cleaning the building in the cold, and our bodies would break down from severe sleep deprivation we continued to work.

The day Marigold came back to us, we realized the true horrors of the orphanage. Marigold came back to us early in the morning that day. She was covered in bruises, but she looked better than before. The bags under her eyes weren't as dark and her face wasn't as sunken in. We quickly hugged her and asked her what happened. She had simply been fed then beaten for making the orphanage "waste their resources". Delighted that she came back, we set off to work with a little happiness. We were in the middle of doing laundry when we heard a ruckus. A boy that looked about ten years old had passed out in the middle of his chore. We walked over to him and tried to wake him up, anyone who took a break during work was severely punished. He was so very light, he was almost skin and bones, and his cheeks had sucked in. We checked his forehead. It was hot, it was so hot. As we tried to wake him up Fiona had noticed what had happened and walked over to him. She checked his forehead and his eyes.

"Tch, another one broke. What are you guys doing? GET BACK TO WORK."

With that she kicked us to the wall and pulled out a revolver.

BANG

"KYAAAAAAAAAH"

Screams escaped from our mouths. He was dead. Blood pooled out from the boy's head until it surrounded his lifeless body. Fiona then walked over to us and pointed the gun in my face. It had the searing smell of gunpowder. She cocked the weapon and took aim at me.

BANG

The sound of the gun echoed through my ears until there was a deafening silence. I felt a sharp pain on my cheek. I reached my hand to check what happened. I brought back my hand and saw my blood. I jumped, tears welled up, but I was too scared to cry.

"I hope I don't have to tell you what happens if you try to get off work."

With that she went back inside the orphanage. Immediately after Fiona had left my sight I fell to my knees. I would never forget what had happened that day. I was brought back to my senses when Sonia started shaking me. She stood in front of me holding Marigold's hand. Tears were running down their cheeks.

"A-a-are we going to die?" Sonia said in amidst of stutters.

My eyes widened.

"No, someone will definitely come to save us. Until then just work hard. If we work hard enough somebody will come. I'm sure of it."

I wasn't sure of it at all. I was scared, scared that what she said would come true. I just wanted someone to come save us. I don't want to do this anymore. Someone, anyone, please save me. I'll be a good girl, so somebody please come and save us. I screamed internally. But there was no way I could give up, for my sake and for my sisters' sake. I would stay strong, despite what would happen to us.

That wouldn't last. Three years later things would take a turn for the worst, and hope had forsaken us.


	4. The Fire

**I didn't think so many people would continue to read this story especially after the 5-month hiatus, thank you all for reading my story. If you guys have any suggestions or comments, please leave a review. Now here's chapter 4, the third and final part of the flashback. I hope you enjoy.**

Chapter 4- Into the Fire

I was nine years old when it first happened. Fiona had given me a two hour break out of the blue. This was the first break I'd ever received since coming here that wasn't a meal. Jumping at the chance to get some rest I went to my room. As I went down the hallway to my room, I noticed that the lights were on and the door wasn't fully shut. Sonia or Marigold had probably forgotten to turn the lights off in a rush to get to morning roll call. I heard some footsteps coming from the room so I peeked through gap in the door, there I saw a man. He wore black slacks, a white polo covered by a black tuxedo, on his head was a black top hat. His clothes were far too nice to be a caretaker and too clean to be an employee. As I stared at him I remembered that I'd seen him walking with Fiona around the yard these past few days. He was always looking at the workers, so I had though he was some higher up in the orphanage making sure everything was alright. I decided to come back when he had left. Just as I was about to turn around a hand grasped my shoulder, I shifted my eyes and saw it was Fiona. She had an evil smirk plastered onto her face. She bent down, squeezed my shoulder much tighter and whispered in my ear.

"You have a visitor Hancock. Why don't you go and introduce yourself to him. He's a Celestial Dragon, that means he's a very important guest. Make sure you do everything he says, or you'll NEVER see your precious little sisters again. Now go on."

With that she released me from her grip and nudged me into the room. The man looked at me and smiled.

"You must be Hancock, you're a very beautiful girl. It's very nice to meet you, my name is Herschellio. Fiona has told me a lot about you."

"Lord Herschellio, please enjoy your visit and remember that there's an area that's off limits."

With that Fiona left the room and shut the door. A disgusting smile appeared on the man as he smacked his lips.

"Now Hancock, let's play."

The two hours felt like an eternity. Once the two hours were up he was called by Fiona and he left. I lay on the floor, my clothes in tatters and the glimmer in my eyes lost. This would soon become part of my schedule. Every week I'd get a "visitor" and their visits wouldn't stop. These men weren't allowed to "damage the goods" as we could fetch high prices when sold at the right age to the right people, but that was no saving grace. Everything else was fair game. This was when I had realized that hope had abandoned me, that nobody was coming to save me.

Three Years Later

One day I saw a large man walking with Fiona when I was doing laundry. He was wearing an official uniform with a name emblem. He was an Inspector named Fisher Tiger. This was the first time I had seen an Inspector in my six years here. The caretakers were moving everyone inside their rooms and bringing out some children I'd never seen before. They all looked so much healthier and kempt than anyone I had ever seen at the orphanage. After an hour we were let out of our rooms and had to go back to our duties.

A week had passed since the inspector had arrived and the days were the same as usual.

KABOOOOOOOOM

I was in the midst of cleaning the floor of the dining area when an explosion shook the ground. I lost y footing and fell. I ran outside and saw that the main building that led to the yard and bedrooms was aflame. The walls had collapsed causing the whole thing to fall apart. There was a mass panic. I ran around looking for Sonia and Marigold. I found them huddled together in our room and quickly got them up.

"ESCAPE! EVERYBODY WHO HAS WANTS TO OR HAS EVER WISHED TO BE FREE GO! RUN AWAY FROM THIS HELL! THIS IS YOUR ONLY CHANCE!"

A man was shouting at everyone to leave. I was in shock, there was no way this was real. Could we really be free again? I was grounded back to reality when Marigold tugged on my shirt.

"Sis, what do we do?"

It was then I remembered my words to my sisters when the boy had been shot. I was going protect my family and make sure we lived. Holding Marigold, I ran with Sonia outside. There stood the man, armed with many weapons and surrounded by the bodies of guards. The man was the inspector from a week ago, why was he doing this? No, it didn't matter, I was leaving this place even if it killed me. I ran past the man with my sisters, we made eye contact for a brief moment. His eyes were filled with grief and sadness, at that time I couldn't see it but mine were empty. Holding onto Sonia's hand, we ran as fast as we could over the destroyed complex and onto the streets. We ran as far away as we could until our legs gave out. After six years we were free from the orphanage, from the Celestial Dragons, and from the control of Fiona. While our bodies were free, our hearts were still chained by the memories of that place.

Our new home was the streets. Nobody cared about us, fed us, or looked at us. We dug through trash to stay alive and huddled together in alleyways to fight off the cold of the night. Many times, we had to fight for food and many times we were on the brink of starvation. Three weeks later a woman named Nyon took us in and took care of us. She treated us as if we were her own and helped us recuperate from our previous treatment. Although Nyon helped us recover, our hearts were still scarred. We were somewhat educated at the orphanage and seeing that Nyon enrolled us in school in grade levels appropriate for our age.

(End of Flashback)

"Now then Luffy, do you hate me?"


	5. Falling

**Thanks for all the continued support. With this chapter the romance category of this series shall finally come into play. I don't think I'll be able to script any other ships in detail but we'll see how that goes. I will use brackets to show what Hancock is thinking. Now then, here's chapter 5.**

Chapter 5: Falling

"Now then Luffy, now that you know about my past, do you hate me?"

Hancock's composure had returned as she asked the question that weighed down on her the most. I was puzzled by this question; the answer was quite obvious.

"Why would I hate you? The people I hate right now are the ones who treated you that way, they make me sick."

As soon as I said that Hancock started to cry again.

"Huh? Why are you crying? Are you sad? Was it something I said?"

Hancock started to wipe her tears away as I panicked trying to find out what went wrong.

"Yes, it's all your fault so…uh…you'll have to take responsibility for your actions." Replied Hancock with a blush and a smile. At that moment not even Hancock knew what caused her to say what she did. Realizing what she had said, embarrassment washed over her face and she hurriedly covered her face.

"Responsibility? Ok." With a confused look I agreed to her terms. I wasn't really sure what that meant but if I made a girl cry then I had to make things right. As I faced Hancock again her face went very red.

"Hey, are you ok? Do you have a fever?"

I leaned over and felt her forehead with mine. It was very hot and it kept getting hotter. Aw man what have I done, gramps is gonna kill me. First I make a girl cry then I don't do anything and she gets sick.

"Hold on, I'll go get a nurse." I say with a loud and worried voice.

"NO!" Hancock yells at me, stopping from getting up.

"It's ok, I'm just a bit cold. I just need some rest. Anyway…I'll see you later."

With that Hancock ran off. Confused by the events that had transpired, I sat at the pond dazing off for a while. I looked at my watch, it said 4:00, I looked at it again and jumped. I still had to finish fixing the roof and get back home before 7 or else gramps would throw me into the jungle again. With that the long day finally came to a close. Hancock didn't come to school the next day because of a fever.

I saw Hancock again the following day as I walked into my Maritime Technology class. She was sitting in her seat with head on the table. Was she sleeping? At that time, I remembered what my grampa told a long time ago: "Luffy, if you ever sleep in class, I won't feed you for a week." I gulped as I remembered the threat. Maybe Hancock would have something similar happen to her if she slept through a class. I decided I would save her from such a grueling fate. I walked over to my seat and sat down. Her head was facing my way so I laid my head down in a similar fashion so that our faces were across from one another. I poked her face a little but nothing. I sucked in my breath.

"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH"

Her eyelids shot open and she nearly lept out of her chair. She angrily looked for the culprit until her eyes landed on mine.

"Morning" I said with a smile.

"Luffy, what are you doing?" She said while staring down.

She had gone from angry to shy very quickly. I told her what I was doing and how I didn't want her to starve. I then asked why she didn't come to school yesterday. A faint blush appeared across her silky white skin.

[Could he be worried about me? Did he wake me up just to see is I was doing alright? Is this his way of showing concern for me? No, it couldn't be.]

As Hancock was lost in her thoughts and kept shaking her head and cupping her mouth, the teacher made an announcement. We were now going to partner up for a project that would last until the end of the semester. I looked around and saw everyone forming pairs, the only other person available was Hancock but she was still caught up in her thoughts. I turned towards her and grabbed one of her hands with both of mine to snap her out of it. It worked, but a bit too well. She stopped what she was doing immediately and stared at her hand in mine. Then she stared at me. Her face steamed with heat as her eyes bounced repeatedly from looking at her hand then at me. A few moments later she fainted. I hurriedly acted to prevent her for falling and she ended up resting her head on my lap. Looks like I'd acquired myself a partner.

When the sign-up sheet was passed to me, I wrote both of our names on it and proceeded to take notes on the lecture. I'd share them with Hancock later when she woke up, wouldn't want her to fall behind. Halfway through the period someone dropped their textbook on the floor with a large THUD. I then felt a movement on my lap. I looked down and saw a pair of sparkling blues eyes intertwined with mine.

"Hey, sleeping beauty, how was your rest?" I said with a smile.

With that her face went completely red once more and she fainted yet again.

"Ah man, just when I thought I could stretch my legs."

I ended up having to keep her head on my lap for the remainder of the period until she was awoken by the bell that signaled the end of the period. She got up from my lap and apologized for her behavior, we exchanged numbers immediately after which she then ran out of the classroom. What was I going to do with her. Oh well, it wasn't too bad.

 **Hancock's Dream Extra (When she fainted)**

I was back at the orphanage in my room. I heard a loud crash and the door swung open. There was a man dressed in all white, but his face was covered in a shadow. He picked me up in his arms and carried me out of the orphanage. He ran until we reached a field covered with nothing but roses as far as I could see. He stood me up on the grass and let me walk around. It was then my clothes changed from rags to a elegant white dress that went up to my knees. I ran around for a bit until I stumbled upon my feet. I was about to fall onto the dirt when he caught me inches from the ground. He leaned his head down towards mine. His lips were inches away from mine. I pursed my lips and closed my eyes. His lips were now only centimeters away from mine, then millimeters, then THUD. I suddenly woke up. There I saw my Luffy staring into my eyes with affection.

"Hey, sleeping beauty, how was your rest?" My face flushed pink as I glanced upon his lips. I recalled the dream and felt them coming closer and closer to mine. It was then I blacked out. The next thing I remember was the sound of the bell.


	6. Sparks

**I wasn't really planning on updating today but in the spirit of the holidays, this'll be my present to you, the reader. Once again, I will use brackets to show what Hancock is thinking. Now then, here's chapter 7.**

Chapter 6- Sparks

The next day, I had a feeling someone was watching me. Whenever I tried to find them, nobody was there. After numerous failed attempts at locating the culprit I concluded that I was just being paranoid. I then continued my walk to school with ease. I crossed the door to my class just before the bell rang and went over to my group of friends. I had homeroom with all of them, so my first period was one of my favorite classes. As usual Sanji was swooning over Nami and Robin, Usopp was fiddling with some contraptions alongside Franky, Chopper was engrossed with watching them handle complex machinery, Zoro was sleeping on his desk, Brook was listening to music, and Robin was reading a book. We all sat really close to each other, so we always were able to talk with one another without much difficulty. Our seats were like so: (Top= back)

Zoro Robin

Franky Usopp Me Chopper Brook

Sanji Nami

Before I knew it the bell for lunch had rung. Zoro woke up and headed out the door, Robin soon followed. Nami went next with a lovestruck Sanji hot on her tail. After was Brook and Chopper who were undoubtedly headed to the library. The rest of us were just about to leave as soon as Franky and Usopp were done packing up. It was at this time that I heard someone calling my name from the door.

"Luffy?" Someone called for with a soft, sweet voice.

I turned my head towards the door and was surprised at who I saw. It was my partner, the school idol, Boa Hancock. She was wearing a tan sweater-vest over a white t-shirt and a matching pair of tan pants that went down to her calved before they were nicely rolled up. She had white converse, a tan strapped watch, and blue violet for her hair clip, which exposed just a bit of her neck. I walked over to her wondering what she needed me for.

"Hey Hancock, you look very pretty today. What brings you here today?" I said with an honest smile.

[HUH? Did Luffy just compliment me?! It's true that I spent a bit more effort on choosing my clothes today but it's not like I did it for him. But does that mean he's paying more attention to me? No, I have t get back on topic]

"Ahem, I-I was just walking by and I happened to see you in your class and thought I'd spend my valuable lunch break with you, if you didn't mind. It's not like I came here just to see you or anything."

Ah, so basically, she was wondering if I'd have lunch with her. I looked towards Usopp and Franky, tears had formed around Franky's eyes while Usopp was dumbfounded, but they both flashed the thumbs up at me. Taking that as their seal of approval I accepted Hancock's request. We went and got our food from the cafeteria then sat across from each other at a somewhat secluded bench under a large tree. She was the first to break the silence.

"So Luffy, it's not like I care or anything but those two girls I saw you talking with in class, are they close to you?"

I thought for a second, she must be talking about Nami and Robin.

"Yeah, they're my precious friends." I replied with a cheerful smile.

[The two of them were quite the lookers, they are probably his l-lovers aren't they. It'd make sense they were acting very familiar with each other.]

"Oh, but you're also my precious friend." I immediately added.

Boa dropped her fork.

[I'm a p-p-precious person to him, isn't this what two very close people are to each other. Is this his way of telling me he loves me?]

"By the way how's volleyball club going? They're not picking on you, are they?"

"Oh, no. They hardly seem to remember anything but it's a bit hard to talk to them the same as always."

She's probably scared that they might remember and start saying all those mean things to her again. I'm glad that the incident was resolved but I worry it may relapse.

"Well, even if you can't talk to them the same, you can always talk to me. Especially about meat, I love meat, it's so delicious. Oh, but Sanji's meat is the best."

While I was rambling on about meat, I failed to notice that Hancock was once again red and her heartbeat had quickened.

[Is he worried about me? Is this his way of telling me he wants me to come to him if I ever feel troubled? Aaaaah Luffy, is this perhaps love?]

While we were both caught up in our fantasies the bell signifying the end of lunch rang and we walked back to class together. We began to see each other more often after that. We'd get lunch together often and walk to classes together when close by. One day as I was walking to school, I was tapped on the back by someone. I turned around and saw Hancock, apparently, she lived really close to me and we ended up starting a tradition of walking to school together. However, our interactions didn't stop there, one day as I was about to go home after my club had ended I saw her poking her head through the window. My club today had ended at six, so I wondered what she was doing here so late. I couldn't figure anything out, so I decided not to think about it. I decided to use this chance to do something sneaky. I went through the back door and snuck up on her. Once I was only a few steps away from her I got close to her ear and softly said boo. I expected her to be surprised but I mistook the magnitude of her shock. In this area in which she was peeking from there was a bush about 4 feet high that was between her and the window underneath the bush was a large puddle. The situation went like so: I said boo, she was caught off balance and she was falling, it was then I noticed the puddle and jumped under her, encasing her with my arms so that she was above, and my back was below. Moments later we crashed through the bush and landed in the muddy puddle with a splash.

I had closed my eyes to brace for the impact, and upon opening them, they met with Hancock's. She lay entirely upon me and her head was mere inches away from mine. We stared at each other for a while.

"Heh heh, sorry about that. I sort of got ahead of myself with the joke." I said with a dry smile.

As I laughed off the joke drop of water hit my face. I looked for rain but soon realized that they were teardrops. Hancock was crying, but why? After a moment I realized. Nobody had ever protected her before. My heart ached at this sad fact. Something as trivial as this had caused her to tear up. Her past was truly tragic. I wrapped my hands around her and pulled her head into my chest.

"It's ok, I'm here for you. If anyone or thing tries to hurt, you I'll definitely protect you. It's okay, you can cry,"

With those words she cries even harder and wailed into my shirt but no matter how many times she wiped the tears off her face, they didn't stop. I run my fingers through her soft, silky, black hair as she lets everything. Sometime later she had fallen asleep in my arms. I slowly raised her up, place her on my back piggy-back style, then began my trip home. She slept like a log the whole way back. I didn't dare to wake her up until just before we arrived. Once we arrived, I put her down in front of her house and waved her goodbye. She was a bit confused with what had happened but returned my wave with a smile as beautiful as the moon. I felt a weird feeling in my chest and my cheeks got a bit hotter but not knowing what it was I ignored it. I didn't know what this was, but it didn't dislike the feeling. As I began walking to my house I felt my phone vibrate. I checked it and saw a message from Hancock.

' _Thank you_ _'_

I replied with _'Anytime'_ and walked home with a smile.

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I had no prior intentions of writing it, much less at this length, but I can't say I didn't like it. I wish you all happy holidays. Stay tuned for the next update, it'll be up soon, I hope** **.**


	7. Warmth Part 1

**SUUUUUUPER sorry for these late updates, college has had me so busy that I didn't have time to upload. Really sorry about that. Shout out to Nisekoi for an idea that I may have taken.**

Chapter 7-Warmth (I)

The day following the events prior I didn't see Boa very much. Occasionally I would hear my name being called but whenever I would look towards the sound there would be nothing there. Even while walking back home I didn't so much as catch a glimpse of her. As such my day past without so much as hearing from her. The following day the same thing happened, I began to wonder if she was mad at me for something I may have done. I didn't know what her schedule was so I couldn't look for her, and on top of this she wasn't showing up to the class we had together. Worried that something might be wrong, I called her as soon as school was done for the day. The phone immediately went to voicemail. This was strange. It was fast, too fast, but I at least knew she was okay, and that was good enough for me.

A few minutes later my phone began to ring. I looked at the caller ID and saw it was Boa. I picked it up.

"Hello?"

"H-hello Luffy, sorry for not picking up earlier, did you need something?"

"Oh, that, I was just wondering if you were alright cuz I didn't see you these last two days."

"O-oh, sorry, I was just…feeling a little sick."

"Oh, alright then. I hope you get better."

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow."

With that the call ended, it was good to hear that she wasn't mad at me. I'll see her tomorrow then.

On the other side of the phone was a totally different reaction.

[Ahh, there's no way I could tell him that I was trying to muster my courage to see him, after that. Absolutely no way.]

With two different emotions resulting from the phone call, the day came to an end. The days ensuing life had returned to normal.

Not too long after Boa came back to class, the teacher of our Maritime tech class reminded us to pay our dues for the fieldtrip we had on the weekend. I had almost forgotten about it. It was a two-day one-night stay in an inn from where we would tour a very famous museum about the history of boatmaking as well as a shipyard. I was really looking forward to it, especially the food that the inn would provide. They had some of the best food I'd ever tasted. As I was thinking about the inn the teacher struck me with a stick of chalk knocking me off my balance and resulting in me falling face first onto the desk.

"Pay attention Luffy."

Finally, the day of the trip had arrived. I woke up extra early to make sure I wouldn't be late. Our charter bus was going to pick us up at our school, so I hurried over there as soon as I could. I knew I was early but not even our teacher was here yet. I waited in the parking lot for a bit until I saw someone come through the gates. Yes! I exclaimed in my head, now I would have someone to talk to while the bus came. From what I could see it was a girl, judging from her height it was probably Hancock. This was great since I didn't really know too many people in the class aside from her. She was sporting a pink Crimin t-shirt with a yellow hoodie over it, peach pants that outlined her curves modestly, and a pair of very light brown converse with white laces. All in all, it was a very cute outfit, likewise I told her so upon her arrival.

"Morning, your outfit looks very cute." I said when she set her belongings down beside me.

A few seconds passed but there was no response. I walked in front of her and waved my hand in her face. That did the trick. She jumped a little but I'd successfully drawn her out of her thoughts. Upon further of her face I noticed she looked surprisingly well for such an early hour, it was like 5am. It was tinged a bit red but that was probably due to the cold. She whispered something under her breath, I didn't quite catch it so I asked her what she said.

"Thank you."

"Huh, oh yeah. Just being honest."

After that little exchange we talked for about thirty minutes until the bus came. We tossed our luggage into the bus and took our seats. I sat near the front, but Boa sat near the back, she probably wanted more space. As our teacher was talking about the trip, my mind drifted away.

"Luffy, Luffy"

I felt someone shake my shoulder and my eyes shot open. I had fallen asleep. Boa was shaking me awake. I got up and looked around, everyone else had already left the bus, they were just waiting on us. I thanked Boa and quickly got my belongings and exited the bus. We had arrived at the inn, and it was as unbelievable as I had remembered it. There were five stories, six baths, a huge dining room, and a bunch of cool decorations over the wall (my favorite was the samurai armor). We were greeted by five maids who led us to our rooms on the second floor. The maids split up and led the boys and girls to separate ends of the floor. Each room was to be shared by four guys, however when the people who were to be in my room came, we counted five. We called a maid and asked her what to do since there were only four futons. She told us there must have been a mistake in the booking of the rooms, apparently the teacher forgot to count himself.

Twenty minutes later the maid came back and told us there were no open rooms due to the winter festival that was being held by the city. However, there was a room that they fixed up for us that could hold an individual. She told us where it was and left the room. The five of us looked at each other. None of us wanted to be in the single room, we wanted to have fun and play games with one another. We decided on playing a tournament of paper rock scissors. The winner's prize was the one-man room, in most cases one would jump at the sight of a room all to themselves, but not this time. Being alone meant that there was nobody to stay up all night with, nobody to prank while asleep, any nobody to wake you up for breakfast, in other words if you win, you lose.

We readied our hands and hearts.

ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS!

Luck wasn't kind to me. I sighed and moved my stuff to the room. I checked time and headed down to the lobby. Most of everyone was here and once the teacher called roll, we left for the museum.

The museum was huge. It was as if someone looked at the Parthenon and decided it was too small for their tastes. As I tried to take everything in, a loud voice snapped me out of my awe. The voice belonged to my teacher, he was telling us that our tour guides had just arrived. Proceeding this, we were split into groups based on the periods when had the class. We formed six groups and one after another left with our tour guides. As we walked in we were met with beautiful boats and ships models hanging from the ceiling. The walls were light brown and covered with portraits of naval commanders and shipbuilders, at eye level were rows after rows of glass cases containing relics of famous ships, and the floor was tiled with an ocean blue. It felt as if we had entered an enormous ship but had only just stepped on deck. I was truly a baby in a candy store but before I could get any further I felt a pat on my shoulder. I turned to see Hancock.

"Luffy, it looks like we're in the same group. What a coincidence huh."

"Yeah, I wanted to see you."

Leaving a blushing Hancock behind, I went into the museum. As we walked past artifacts, I spared no effort in explaining it very thoroughly to Hancock. Before I knew it a lot of time had passed, and it was now lunch. We ate food at nearby restaurants, for about two hours and then we went back into the museum. The tour guide took across the upper floors of the museum. While on the fourth floor the tour guide took into a large black walk through exhibition.

The passageway was dark and lit only with some lamps. Across the walls were pictures and paintings of the ways ships were made before the existence of proper shipbuilding companies, the most prominent way being the use of slaves. Drawings of their cruel treatments and terrible working conditions littered the walls. Some even showed inflicted injuries in detail. Their skin was torn and scarred, wounds were unwrapped and hideous, and their bodies were a mess. Their punishments were also shown in the same amount of detail.

As I walked through the exhibition, I shuddered as the pictures grew worse one and worse. This would continue until we reached the room's exit. Upon exiting the exhibit, I was exasperated, as I tried to steady my breath I reflected on what I had seen. I was pulled from the midst of my thoughts by the tour guide's voice.

"Is everybody here?" She asked in a semi-loud voice.

I looked around and to see if anyone was missing. As I scanned the room I immediately realized, who was missing and ran full speed into the room.

(Hancock 10 minutes ago)

Everybody was walking into the exhibition in a single line. The room was small, so we had to line up single file. I was in the very back and Luffy was a few people in front of me. I tried to get to a closer position but not even my beauty could do anything about the cramped room. Finally, it was my turn to go into the exhibition.

The place had a very eerie air to it. It felt like walking through a dimly lit dungeon decorated in pictures. I walked through the exhibit for a bit without paying attention. Halfway through I stepped on a sharp rock that snapped me out of my daydream. I winced at the pain but all that came to a stop when I saw the pictures for what they were. My eyes widened as I took in the images before me.

Pain, suffering, anguish, and death encompassed me from all sides. It was just like that place. Everywhere I looked I saw a picture of my sisters and I being beaten, punished, starved and violated by the adults. As my repressed memories of that place escaped, my knees gave in and I fell to the cold floor and my entire body began to quiver. Images of the caretaker and "clients" flashed through my head. Screams of my sisters rang through my ears. The scars on my back began to flare up, getting hotter and hotter by the second. Tears spilled from my eyes but more than anything else I was scared.

I tried to call for help but nothing would escape my voice. I was all alone. Nobody was going to come just like that time. The pain in my back, the cool touch of the floor and the tears on my cheek continued as I felt the world grow cold.

I closed my eyes and curled into a ball. With the last of my strength one frail word escaped my lips.

"Help…"

Then everything went black.

Sorry for the cliffhanger of an ending, I wanted to update asap. I'm really really sorry about the huge gap in updates. I'll try to write a lot more in the next few days.


	8. Warmth Part 2

**Thank you everyone who has been keeping up with my story. Once again, I'm really sorry about the almost 6 month delay since the last post.**

 **I made a change to the ending of the last chapter to better fit the story so please read that again.**

 **With that here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy.**

Chapter 8-Warmth (II)

I ran inside the exhibit as quickly as possible. I kept on running until I heard a muffled voice. I slowed to a stop and slowly walked to the source of the noise.

My heart beat throbbed harder and harder as I got closer and closer to the source. Upon reaching it, my heart almost broke.

There, on the ground, laid Hancock. Tears were flowing across her cheeks, her legs were tucked into her stomach, and her entire body was shaking.

I crouched down next to her and began to wipe her tears away. I lifted her from the ground and wrapped my arms around her. I lifted her in my arms and began walking to the exit.

I walked her close to the exit and set her down just out of the sight of others. I informed the tour guide that she wasn't feeling too well and needed some time to rest. The guide gave me a list of places and times that would tell me where to meet them at any given time once she was feeling better.

Once the rest of the people had left I brought Hancock out and sat down until she had recovered. I laid her down on a bench gently and sat beside her. She looked terrible. Her eyes were swollen red, lines of dried tears covered her face, and there were small traces of snot under her nose.

It wasn't for an hour or so that she woke up. Upon waking up I told her what had happened and what we were going to do now. After the small briefing she went to the bathroom and washed her face we rejoined the group. The rest of the tour was interesting, but something wasn't the same. After the tour came to a close we headed back to the buses and went back to our rooms.

Upon coming back, we had a big dinner. Hancock looked a bit pale, so she excused herself to her room soon after eating. I saw her off and went to take a hot shower, I wasn't really sure what to do or say in these situations. As I stood in the shower, I thought back to today's events. Was there anything more I could've done? Can I do anything now? Lost in my thoughts time flew by and I needed some sleep.

I exited the shower and dried myself off. After brushing my teeth, I went back to my room. Just as I was creeping into my futon there was a knock on the door. Earlier the teachers had said they were going to be making rounds earlier to make sure we were asleep, so I went and slid open the door.

As expected it was my teacher. He apologized a bit for the mistake then told me to go to sleep, tomorrow was going to be a long day. After scolding me for being up so late he went to go check up on other rooms and follow suit. I went back to my futon and checked the inn's brochure we were given in the morning. I set my alarm to just before breakfast would be served and plopped on the futon. Just as I was about to pull my covers over me, I heard another knock on the door. I sighed, what did the teacher want now. I slid open the door, but the teacher wasn't anywhere to be seen. In his stead stood Hancock, eyes downcast.

I opened the door and let herself in. I didn't have chairs so we both sat down on bedding. Silence filled the room. I wanted to ask how she was doing, but I didn't want for her pain to resurface again.

"…thank you"

She mumbled something under her breath, but I didn't hear it.

"Did you say something?"

"Thank you, but I don't think I can be around you anymore." She repeated, eyes still downcast.

"When I was in that room, it felt like the walls were closing in on me. The pictures on the wall brought back my memories of that place. All the tears I shed and the pain I felt, suddenly began to course through my body. It reminded me of how cold a place the world really was."

I tried to say something, but she put her hand out. With the forearm of the other she covered her eyes. I could only watch as a tear dripped from her chin and onto the bed, then another, and then rest followed in an endless.

"So many…so many times… I called for help." She was practically speaking in between sobs at this point.

"But nobody, NOBODY, would ever come. So many times, I thought about ending it all together with my sisters, but I was weak. When, I'm with you I feel happy, happier than I've ever been, but this isn't permanent. One day you won't be around anymore and when that happens. HAPPINESS ISN'T EVERLASTING, THE ONLY THING THAT STAYS IS PAIN."

My eyes widened at the words she had just said. All of our memories, all the time we spent, was all of this for nothing? All the laughs we shared, were they fake? Was this how it was going to end? Were we going back to being strangers again?

"I can't be with you anymore, it's only going to hurt me more."

No, you're wrong.

"If I was just going to be hurt again, I might as well have not ever met you."

No, don't say that. Please don't say that.

"No matter, NO MATTER what happens I'm still the weak girl I was."

"NO!" My emotions began to pour out.

"IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU'RE WEAK, BECAUSE I'LL SAVE YOU"

I grabbed her and moved her arm so I could see her face. Her eyes were swollen red with tears, her face was covered in tears sliding down her face.

"IT DOESN'T MATTER WHERE YOU ARE, I'LL ALWAYS COME FOR YOU. WHENEVER YOU CRY, I'LL WIPE YOUR TEARS. WHENEVER YOU'RE HURTING I'LL BE THERE TO LISTEN. So please, don't leave."

She tucked her face into my shirt and wailed and cried. I don't know how long it lasted but before I knew it she had fallen asleep. I lifted her from my shirt damp with tears and laid her on the bed. I tucked her in, turned the light off and followed suit. In any other situation it would have been unsettling to sleep next to a girl but today none of those thoughts went through my mind. All I thought about was making sure she was safe.

As I closed my eyes, I felt a hand make its way over my chest. I turned my head and the rest of my body to face her, her hand now over my right side. She was still asleep, but something was different. Her hair glimmered in the cracks of moonlight that escaped from my window. Her face, despite being dirtied with tear, looked beautiful. Unaware of what I was doing, I brought my lips up to her forehead and kissed her flawless skin. Just as she had, I placed my arm around her waist, closed my eyes and fell asleep.

He didn't notice but, as his lips had lifted from her head the corners of Hancock's lips rose in a smile that would last through the night.

Thanks for all the support guys. I'm going to start another project this week, so I'm not sure when I'll post next. This isn't complete nor is it on a hiatus, I just cannot say when I'll post again.


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